how i met your mother
by kind.of.a.writer
Summary: May has been shot. Skye is so worried about her "mother" that, in order to calm her, Phil decides to tell her their story
1. Shot

I know, I know, I've been posting literally one chapter for day (for all my stories) But I'm stuck here in a beach house, and at nights all I can do is writing... I hope you won't kill me xD

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><p>"Coulson!" screamed Skye in her ear cuff, her voice clearly stained with panic.<p>

"Skye, calm down" he answered, surpised by her reaction. Skye, as her instructor, know how to stay cold at very hard situations, and couldn¿t think about something that would scare her enough to shout in a mission. "What happened?"

"Mayday, Mayday, Daymay... Oh, fuck this, May got shot!"

"What?!" exclaimed Coulson, forgetting completely about his previous order. "Is she okay?"

"I... I don't know" she admitted, anguished.

"I have the files" intervened Trip at that moment. "I'll go and get you and we'll get back to the base"

"Fine, hurry. Skye, chill, you need to keep her awake" said Coulson.

"Okay..."

"I'm... fine" tried to say May.

"Don't talk" he said, nervous for the evident weakness in her voice.

May was two feet away from Ske. She was still standing, yet it was obvious that that wouldn't last much longer. She was folded in half, holding hands against her wound and trying to stop the abundant blood coming out from her. Skye ran to her side, not quite sure what to say or do.

"Where...?"

"Above stomach, right side" replied the woman, breathing heavily.

"No, don't speak" she ordered. "Trip's on his way, you think you can make it to the quinjet?"

"I..."

May collapsed, losing the force that generally radiated from her person, but the young woman managed to catch her before she hit the floor. She was scared, more than she remembered being in a long time. The silence around her was truly overwhelming, all she could hear was May gasping. She suddenly remembered what Coulson had told her.

"May" she said with a pleading voice. "Please, wake up" she gently moved her shoulder. "God, please, wake up..."

May opened her eyes a little bit, just enough to get a clear picture of her.

"Skye..."

"No, shut up" Skye said, brusquely. "Don't faint again, please. Look at me, you're going to be fine"

The specialist nodded, though it was just to calm down her young ptotégé. She knew she had got one of the bad shots, she could feel a burning pain spreading through her whole body, from her wound all the way to the tips of her fingers. A wave of panic suddenly hit her, thinking that maybe it had hit something vital, and she wasn't as young as how she used to be...

_No, _she thought. _You are not dying. Not now._

"I'm here!" Trip appeared at the door, running as fast as he could. "Skye, take this" he threw her a folder she caught in fly. "She's bleeding too much"

With that kind of ability that only the experience can give you, the young man ripped a part of his shirt and pressed it against May's stomach.

"Al right... Skye, help me to get her up" he said.

"I can walk" murmured May.

"You stay quiet!" exclaimed both Coulson and Skye through the comms.

The woman leaned on Trip's shoulder and among the three, they managed to reach the Quinjet. They held May to one of the seats, and Skye stood beside her as she helped her remove her jacket.

"We'll get to the Playground in twenty minutes" said Trip, from the cockpit. "Stay calm, both of you. And try to keep her conscious"

The young woman nodded, though he couldn't even see her.

"May... please, don't fall asleep" she whispered, taking her hand. "Please..."

May gave her hand a gentle squeeze, trying to let her see that she was not going anywhere.

"Good" she continued. "We'll be there soon. Everything's going to be fine..."

"I know" she replied. "Breath, Skye"

"Don't tell me to breath" Skye complained, somewhat hysterical. "I should tell you to breath, so you breath right now"

The other one tried to smile her. Instead of that, all she could do was coughing blood in the seat that was in front of them. The red splashed the white leather, and Skye felt a sharp pang of nausea. She usually didn't have any issues with blood, but knowing it was from May, the woman who was way more than her SO for her, she just couldn't help it.

However, something more worrying distacted her. May was pale, and when she squezzed her hand she realised it was increasingly cold.

"May... don't close your eyes" she begged, alarmed. "Please... Don't die, mom" she whispered, so no one but May could hear her.

All May could do was nodding, though she wanted to hug her, as she desperately tried to regain control of her body. She managed to stop her coughing and attempted to focus in Skye. For the very first time in so many years, she realised that she actually didn't want to die yet. She had to take care of Phil and Skye, to protect her team, and she was certainly decided not to die in front of the poor girl. Besides, at least she had to say good bye to him...

_Enough_, she cut off her own thoughts. _You are not dying nor leaving them. You can't do that. It's just a gunshot, right? You've had those before..._

"Melinda, are you alright?" asked Coulson in that moment.

With the concern painfully palpable in his voice, he wasn't talking by the comms that kept all the team in touch. He was speaking through the special channel that was exclusive for them, the one they used in some missions to keep each other updated without alarming the others.

"I'm fine, Phil" she whispered.

With a little luck, Coulson would understand that she speaking softly to avoid scaring Skye, not because she was too weak. Not that she wasn't, but he didn't need to know that.

"Two minutes" announced Trip in everyone's ear cuffs.

"God" muttered Skye. "Why these freaking planes don't have any first aid kits?"

May sighed. Actually there were some kits in the quinjet, but they were about to land and she didn't want her to feel bad. If Skye kept on stressing she would have a panic atack and she wasn't in shape to handle her. She continued pressing the piece of shirt against the wound, though it was soaked and the blood had began to run down her hand and forearm.

"Landing..." said Trip. "Hold on..."

A few seconds later they arrived at the base and the specialist noted with horror that almost everyone was waiting for them with a wheelchair and one of the doctors. She shot Coulson a death glare, but said nothing. They both knew she was in no position to argue.

Trip helped her to sit down and he and Coulon took her to where their little medical center was.

"Where...?" asked the doctor, who had followed them as everyone else.

"Above the stomach, right side" gasped May. "Thirty minutes ago"

"No previous injuries in the zone" added Coulson.

"I see you know the protocol" he commented, pursing his lips. "This way..."

The doctor made them enter an operating room, but kept the rest from going inside. Fitz went to Skye, who seemed about to collapse, and surrounded her by the shoulders with one arm. This was one of the first acts of physical contact that he had directed her in quite a while, and she could not help but feeling worse.

Meanwhile, Coulson and Trip had helped May to lie on gurney.

"Now you need to go" said the doctor. "I'll let you know as soon as I have news"

"Sir ..." Trip murmured, seeing that the director seemed reluctant to leave.

Coulson nodded. He leaned quickly over May and kissed her forehead before whispered something in her ear.

"If you die, I'll kill you"

After getting a tiny smirk from her, he went out of the room followed by Trip. He wordlessly left. As much as he could hate himself because of that, he truly felt incapable of meeting his team's looks. He couldn't even imagine the possibility of something happening to May, and the sad expression in their faces was nothing but a painful reminder of it.

"She's gonna be fine" said Fitz to Skye. The other one nodded, both as a response as to try to convice herself.

"It's true" said Lance, who hadn't said a word until then. "It's May we are talking about. She's really strong"

Still clinging to Fitz, Skye sat on a bench. Until then she had not understood the need to put them there, and doing so she felt sick.

"Do you think Coulson is fine?" Mack asked Trio in a low tone.

"I don't know, he just kissed her forehead and seemed so worried while doing so..." admitted his friend. "If something happens to her... I don't know"

"Were they...?" started Hunter, but stopped. Everyone looked at him as if he were asking the dumbest thing ever. "Sorry" he apologised, somewhat embarrassed.

"They had been together since before you were born" muttered Skye, not been able to use a louder tone. "Not in that way... They just need each other"

The small group of agents remained silent, not knowing what to do. Skye leaned her head on the shoulder of the young genius, telling herself that everything would be okay.

_"Come on, Skye, she's May... She didn't look that bad, did she? She's gonna be fine... She'll probably be mad at you because you worried so much about her..."_

But she couldn't stop it. She cared about May, more than she ever imagined she would. May, the woman who seemed to hate her as soon as she put a foot in the Bus. May, the one who had managed to calm down Hannah and save the team from Tobias. May, who had beat the hell out of Ian Quinn after he shot her. May, the woman who tried to stay cold to the rest of the world because she was destroyed in her inside. May, who believed in helping the others and protected her team, the people she loved so fiercely. May, who had taken a bullet for her and now was fighting for her life in that operating room...

She realised that she had been carrying her jacket the whole time, hugging it tightly to her chest to absorbe any strenght it might had left. The doctor appeared after an hour or so. His medical coat was covered in blood, and so were her hands.

"There was a complication" he said with seriousness.

"What kind of complication?" asked Skye, anticipating the others.

"It turns out the bullet perforated a part of the lung... It's a miracle she could make it here" he admitted. "It's something bad, I'm not going to lie to you. But we'll do everything in our hands to save her"

"What do we have to do?"

"You?" the man offered her a sad look, putting a kind hand on her shoulder. "You need to wait... and pray, I'm sorry"

"Thank you, doctor" said Trip.

The doctor made a move to turning around, but seemed to think it twice. He put a hand in his pocket and took out a small object from it. It was a ring. A simple, silver-made and now blood-covered ring.

"It was in her trousers" he said, handing it to Skye. "I think you should have it"

"Thanks" she whispered, feeling a knot in her throat.

Skye turned away from Fitz, and headed to the door slowly.

"Where are you going?" asked Lance, seeing that part of her was shaking violently.

"Someone needs to tell Coulson" said the girl, her voice barely audible.

"Do you want me to...?"

"No" she interrupted him and opened the door that was at the end of the corridor. "I need to do this alone"

Before getting an answer she left the room. She walked through the silent base staring at the floor, moving more by instinct and need that by her own will. She didn't know where she was going until she found herself entering the garage. And she was not alone.

"I knew you'd be here" she murmured.

Coulson said nothing, just kept staring at the dashboard of his car. He had his arms crossed over his chest so hard that seemed determined to never separate them again.

Skye bit her tongue. She shuffled over to where he was, dragging her feet and unable to meet him in the eye, then sat down in Lola next to him

"There was a complication" she said. She didn't wait for an answer and continued. "Apparently the bullet pierced the lung..."

Without being able to say anything else, she bursted out crying. The last thing she wanted was to appear weak in front of Coulson, after all she had come with the intention of supporting him, but just could not bring himself to stop.

"It's my fault" she said between each sob, trying in vain to breathe again with normality."It's my fault..."

Coulson sighed. He already felt guilty enough for both of them, but still couldn't stop himself from the instinct of conforting her.

"It's not your fault, Skye" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's not anyone's fault"

"Yes, it is" she sobbed, burying her face in the jacket. "It's me who should had been shot"

"Why do you say that? May..." In pronouncing her name his voice broke, but the gulped and continued. For her. "She was probably distracted..."

"No, she wasn't. I was" she admitted. "I was checking the damn GPS, they shot me and she pushed me so they wouldn't hit me"

Skye continued to weep, and Coulson hugged her not saying a word. He himself had been through that before, and he knew how much it hurt believing to be responsible for the pain of someone you care about so much. He was full of fears and insecurities at the time, but he felt that it was the right thing to do, protect the young, and that that was what May would want him to do. He thought it was very typical of May what she had done, and didn't blame Skye at all. Not that it served to lighten the weight that pressing his chest, which prevented him from breathing properly.

"I don't want to lose her" she whispered. "I don't..."

"You are not going to lose her, Skye" he interrupted her. "None of us is" _I couldn't_, he thought for himself. "Hey, everything is going to be fine, okay? It's May... she's a fighter, and she won't leave you..."

Phil knew he was promising something quite impossible, he wasn't an idiot, and the cruel experience had taught him that she wasn't immortal. However he said it, gently stroking the girl's hair. She nodded, cleaning her tears with the back of her hand. Coulson could see once again the frightened girl he had known some time ago, the one who had never found her place. Now she had a family and even a pair of parents who loved her crazily. Maybe they were not a biological family, but that didn't matter. Skye now had a father and a mother, and Coulson could clearly see the fear in her eyes that gave her the possibility of losing May.

"She's going to be fine" he assured her. He wasn't exactly sure if he had said that to calm her or himself, maybe both, but he desperately needed to hear those words said out loud.

"She's the only mother I've ever had" Skye whispered, breatlessly.

"I know" Phil answered. "And it doesn't matter how damn proud and stubborn she is, I know she feels the same way about you"

"You really think so?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"No. I know it" he said, offering her a small smile. "Hey, do you want me to tell you something?"

"What?"

"I'm going to tell you... how I met your mother"

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><p>May had a ring in her pocket, who gave it to her? Skye is really worried about her... Please post reviews guys! I'd like to know what you think about the story, thanks for reading :)<p>

(I don't own anything)


	2. The bar

Here is chapter two, hope you like it! I don't own anything

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><p>"I'm going to tell you... how I met your mother"<p>

Skye grinned, thankful, and leaned back on the door to face him as he talked. She knew that under the circumstances it was probably very hard for him to think of May and remember all their history together, but had not the courage to stop him, because besides saw in his eyes that he also wanted to tell her that story.

"So, how did you meet her?" she asked, bitten by curiosity.

He smiled. He sat back for comfort, crossing his arms as he scratched his chin and was pierced by an infinite number of those tiny daggers which we call memories. Hundreds of images and moments crossed his mind at that moment. He remembered the day they had met, all those unforgettable moments at the Academy, from how they had escaped several times to their legendary pranks. And all those years in ops ...

Coulson shook his head. That powerful nostalgia was sweet, yeah, but also bitter. It was like a bottle of vodka, if you take a drink you may feel reassured and maybe find some resolution to keep going. But, if it is too much, you always end up regretting it.

He sighed, took a deep breath and started to talk:

So, when I was something like, twenty six, I don't remember it now, I used to assist to some agency meetings with my friends and our supervision officer. And by meetings I mean hanging out at a private bar of the agency, it wasn't as boring as how you might imagine. And other times, just a few, dinners meant to make the young agents get to know each other. Maybe you think that's odd, but it's very important for two agents who work at the same team to trust and get along well with each other. Those dinners were actually boring, though.

That night we were at the bar. I was somewhat disillusioned and bored because three of my best friends were unable to go, busy with their relationships and other things. So I was with John, who was another one of my best friends and also had to attend such meetings or, as he liked to call them, a opportunity to get an easy one night stand.

John had spent years telling me to get a girlfriend. I hadn't had one since I was at the Academy, and said that while it was good not to get involved with people from work, was healthy to have someone, nothing too serious, and it was even better if I didn't have to work with it then. You know, to have sex and then dump her when I got bored of it. Well, that day was no exception.

"Come on, Phil, you need to get someone" he had insisted for the tenth time in the last thirty minutes. "You've been alone for a while now, and you and I both know you're someone who needs somebody"..._Don't look at me like that, Skye, I'm just telling the story_.

For him, having a girlfriend could only mean two things. If you were in a plane or mission, meant having sex as much as one would like, quite enviable when you spend months without seeing other people. But if they were not on the same team, just meant pathetic hours of calls and the loss of any freedom. The thing is, I will never understand the whole concept that John had of the term girlfriend, but was way too distant from looking like mine.

"I don't need a girlfriend" I had answered, rolling my eyes.

"Don't you wanna get married?"

I honestly didn't know what he was planning with that question, as he was a declared marriage-hatter or actually anything that involved any kind of sentimental commitment.

"John, we are in a freaking agency, that life-style is not an option" I said.

"But I know you, Phil, and that's what you want" he replied, taking a sip of scotch as he walked his sight around the estay. "I know it's hard, but it's not impossible, you know"

"I know" I sighed, shrugging. "But I find it hard to believe that I'll find someone right for me"

"That's because you have too many expectations... Look, that blonde at three o'clock. She's not half bad"

He was pointing to a girl who was sitting with a bunch of friends a few tables beyond. Was quite pretty, tall and curvy, funny attitude and easy appearance, but, all I could see was a hollow girl who I didn't know how had entered the agency.

"Too stupid" I muttered. "Maybe I will never have my ideal girlfriend, but I don't want just sex like you, John. I mean that, when the moment comes, I'll know she's the one"

"Oh, don't you dare to start all Nate and Vic" he had complained, pretending to puke. "Yeah, they met at school and are the typical cute couple, but you are not like them"

Nate and Victoria had been together since our third year at the Academy, they were the perfect couple and even called each other cute silly names. They were like a freaking Fitz-Simmons 80's version. If I must be honest, I envied them a little. At that point in my life I was just a young and talented agent, but very inexperienced. Spent so much time concentrating on my work that normal things like a relationship had become strange. Instead, they could feel worried about many things, but also knew they could always count on each other.

"That's my problem, you know? They just looked at each other and knew it" I commented, thinking in our friends. "I mean, why can't I find someone like that?"

"Okay, dude, I honestly don't get you" he said, snorting. "You think it's impossible to find someone who might be right for you, but you want to fall in love at first sight?"

I rolled my eyes as I finished my glass of scotch, frustrated that he did not understand how I felt. It was nearly one o'clock and there we were, sitting at our usual table, looking around not really knowing what the hell we were doing in the bar or rather in the world. He was dressed quite formally, saying women loved that and it honestly seemed to work, as he always got the girls to stay with him. For my part, I wore a simple jacket with jeans. As I pondered his words I scratched my head, thinking in the girlfriend's I had had. A few, like Stella, had lasted more than others, and at some point in my life I had been sure about them being 'the one' and everything, only to end in another disappointment.

"Maybe you are right" I finally said, shrugging. "What can I say? I don't like being alone"

"And that's exactly why the blonde deserves a chance," he replied. "You're a goddamned romantic, Phil, obsessed with the idea of, seeing a woman and see hearts and stars, buying her chocolates and're maybe inviting to eat at a cute restaurant with blue instruments. But wake up, man" said as he knocked my forehead as if it were a door. "Today is not that day. So I say, go with the blonde and fuck her all night so strong that tomorrow she can't stand up" I shook my head and I hit him in the arm, disgusted by the idea. "Ouch! But, come on, you can continue your searching tomorrow"

"The blonde is not my type" I complained. "But it's so _your_ type, so why don't you go and get her?"

"Becaaaause, I can get any girl I want, duh, and it's my job to help those who are not as awesome as me" he replied, with a funny air or seriousness and sensibility that he evidently didn't possess. "What did I tell you the first time we met, Phil?"

I rolled my eyes, thinking about that day. We were freshmen, the very first day of the Academy, when I was told that he would be my roommate. At first we fought all the time, especially for the amount of girls he brought to our room. I mean, je didn't care if I was there watching a movie or eating a piece of pizza, they would come and bum, I was kicked out from my own dorm, or worse, wouldn't even care if I was there. One day I confronted him, telling him I was sick of it. We argued for a while, but finally he laughed.

"Fine, fine" he had said, putting an arm around my shoulders. "Sorry, man, I promise I won't bring any random chick here... At least not in school days. But, do you know something?"

"What?" I asked, reluctantly.

"I'm going to teach you how you live, Phil" he announced, gesturing with his hands and wide opening his eyes in a dreamer way to emphasize his words. "I, John Garrett, will not rest until you, young Phil Coulson, have learned how to live"

With _live_, he was referring to have a great time. Go to parties, not study, and have as many one night stands as possible. Sometimes I cannot believe he graduated with almost the same grades I did... Anyway, that was his definition of life. I didn't follow it, of course, because I didn't want to dress up like that, cared about my studies and possessed something called moral. However, believe it or not, from John I learned certain things. From magic tricks, real magic tricks, to the fact that love is not always full of hearts and roses.

"Hey, earth calling Phil" said Garrett in that moment, moving my shoulder. "Too much drinking or what?"

I shook my head, realising I had gotten lost in my daydreams and memories.

"So, what did I tell you that night we argued?" Garrett insisted, noticing that I was reacting.

"That you'd teach me how to live"

Seeing it in retrospect, it was not actually John the one who taught me how to live and have fun, it was someone much different and special to me. Either way, I wouldn't begin to argue with him, I was too used to deal with his stubborn convictions and it was somewhat late to start discussing

"That I would teach you how to live!" he repeated. "So, Phil? Forget about a girlfriend!"

"Didn't you tell me to get someone?"

"Yes, someone to stay the night with. Nobody is made to be alone, less when we have these" John stretched the muscles he had thanks to our trainig. Some girls let out silly giggles, causing me to roll my eyes. "Why don't you give the blonde a shot?"

"Because I don't like her, John" I exclaimed, losing my patience. "Whatever, I'm going home"

I left my glass on the table and turned around to head up to the door. And that was when I saw her. She was beautiful, she really was, with that green sweater, her dark hair reaching a little below her shoulders and some deep and bright eyes. She was smiling as she talked to other girl, and when she smiled I couldn't help but smirking. I knew her name, nearly everyone at the Academy did, but in that moment I wanted to actually know her.

"I need to talk to her" I told John. I really wanted to, besides, it was a good way to get away from him.

My friend rolled his eyes and after giving me a small reassuring pat in the shoulder let me go to play a move on the blonde.

I was still staring at her, and as I did I realised that, as much as I wanted to as if I didn't, she would become a very important part of my life. And she did.

Skye smiled, moved by Coulson's words. Even though she knew what he felt for May and they had argued about it countless times previously, it was still nice and tender to know for how long he had loved her.

"So that's how you met her?" she asked. "At a bar, so many years ago?"

"Oh, no... That's how I met Maria Hill"

"WHAT?!"

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><p>I know, I know, for those who know how i met your mother (the show) it might be somewhat unoriginal. But, it's just that it's the same actress, so it was funny to picture her in both worlds... I just couldn't stop myself XD... I promise next chapter will be better! Please post some reviews! Do you like the HIMYM style or you'd prefer something different? Tell me what you think! :)<p>

PS: There is NO WAY this is going to be a Hill/Coulson story, just Philinda! I just wrote about Hill because it would be funny to make the confussion. However, she won't be very important in the story


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